2006 Play-by-Play On January 5, b
ut discovered on October 1, Frozen Stiff scored a 5-point solo on British MP (Member of Parliament) Rachel Squire.[REST COMING LATER]
September 7
, A trio of veteran Gamesters waited for days on end for their aces to be confirmed as the demise of Robert Earl Jones was rumored for weeks at alt.obits. Now we can report that Gang Green, Greyfriars Bobby and Sweeney Todd all made the call. Jones is probably best remembered for his role as Robert Redford's mentor in the 1973 film "The Sting," but he also acted on Broadway and was briefly a pretty good prize fighter. September 14, Mr. Goodvibes and Stonesdoug denied each other a solo as both listed champion body builder and actor Mickey Hargitay, who was also married to Jayne Mansfield. (Read the obit - the man was charmed.) The two-point hit lifted 26-year veteran Mr. Goodvibes to 16 & 6 and within 9-points of the career 600 level. The hit also lifted the spirits of Stonesdoug, who had been in a mild mid-season slump. September 17, Arizona Gamester Willie's Will added a one-point solo to his score and rose to 14 & 12. Now in his 12th season of play, it was the second solo of the year and the eighth of his career. September 20 (discovered Halloween)..San Francisco's Isadora has a most stylish one-point solo on Laszlo Bellak, better known as the "Clown Prince of Table Tennis." Mr. Bellak is in several Halls of Fame, including the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Table Tennis HOF. September 26, Twenty Gamesters gathered together at the 19th Hole to celebrate a hole-in-one on Byron Nelson, who five major championships on the PGA tour and who won 11 consecutive tournaments in 1945. The Beverlys, Skul, J Eby and Gashlycrumb Tinies made micro-moves in the Top Twenty. Johnnie B. Dead, Hanuman and Unplugged secured their QPAs. Canadian rookie Louis Cypher scored his second hit while rookie Pagan Babies scored their third. September 30, Schrodinger's Cat, who can be found in the Cape Fear area of NC, scored a very stylish three-point solo on "Uncle" Josh Graves, who introduced the dobro to bluegrass music when he played with the Foggy Mountain Boys. Graves was his third solo of the year and the 16th of his career (10 seasons of play). This hit resonates!October 01, Mac, who resides in Michigan, scored a sweet little one-point solo on actor and writer Alan Caillou, who worked on both the small and the big screens. It was Mac's second solo of the year and the seventeenth of his thirteen year career. Quality hit - Quality Gamester. October 4, Michigan's Mme. Morte scored a front page NY Times solo on esteemed journalist R.W. Apple, whose remarkable reporting and writing style helped shape our impressions of America from the 1960s to the '80s. The three-point solo lifted Madame Morte to 26 & 7 which vaulted her into a tie for 24th-place with Daisy Pusher. It was her first solo of the 2006 campaign and the fifth of her career. Muted, polite applause required. October 06, Five Gamesters scored a tribute point on Negro Leagues legend, Buck O'Neil, which is better treatment than he got from the Baseball Hall of Fame, which bypassed O'Neil when they voted in a slew of Negro League players this past February. October 14, Nine Gamesters went to their CD collections to find a four-point hit from Tex-Mex musician Freddy Fender, whose 1975 hits "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" are classics. Leading the way was Iowa's Omega Travel, who solidified their hold on 4th-place. Breathless, who also hails from Iowa, rushed into the Top Ten and took over 7th-place. William Randolph Hearse scored his 8th hit while D. Beach scored his 7th. Nebraska's Eckspired gained her QPA and took over the lead for Rookie of the Year. Stonesdoug and Lincoln's Brain also qualified for their QPA while Killed By Death and Styx & Stones rounded out the scoring.
October 18, New York City's Greyfriars Bobby scored a clever one-point solo on Anna Russell who was known as the "Queen of Musical Parody." She was sort of a female Victor Borge but she also wrote books, including How To Be A Positive Stinker. October 20, Ontario's Silk Shroud shrewdly Went Wild while thirteen other Gamesters collected an ace from actress Jane Wyatt, who is most often remembered for her role as Margaret Anderson, the mother of Princess, Bud and Kitten on the 1950s television series "Father Knows Best." J. Eby rose to 32 & 11 and into the 17th-place slot. Gamesters Cerberus, Pocketfull of Posies and Willie's Will scored their tenth hits of the season. The Flatliners and Preserveit qualified for their QPAs. October 22, Pittsburgh's Motel Styx scored an extremely stylish seven-point solo on 33-inch tall actor and Boston Red Sox good luck charm, Nelson De La Rosa, who is best remembered for his presence in the Red Sox dugout during the 2004 playoffs and his appearance in the 1996 film "The Island of Dr. Moreau" with Marlon Brando. October 28, New York State's Chapter E scored a dramatic five-point solo on former world heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick who was slain by an as yet unnamed, axe wielding suspect. With the hit, Chapter E improved to a most respectable 21 & 9. It was the 13-year veteran's tenth career solo. October 28, New York State's Chapter E scored a dramatic five-point solo on former world heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick who was slain by an as yet unnamed, axe wielding suspect. With the hit, Chapter E improved to a most respectable 21 & 9. It was the 13-year veteran's tenth career solo. October 28, Twenty-six cigar-smoking Gamesters excitedly rushed onto the parquet floor of the old Boston Garden to celebrate their hit on legendary Red Auerbach, who led the Boston Celtics to 16 NBA championships as head coach, manager and president. Sophomore Gamester High Plains Drifter improved to 40 & 12 and took over 6th-place. The Beverlys used the deuce to bag their tenth hit and take the 14th-place slot while Boneyard Dog used his to climb to 16th-place. Divinely Supine was overcome relief as she finally made it into the Top Twenty. Our new webmaster, Habeas Corpse, got his tenth hit and is now 22nd. The creative Chapter E wound up with a 7-point Berbick/Auerbach Daily-Double. But, most significantly, the Sick Puppies hit the the wild card for five, and retake the Game lead. Just like basketball, this year's game is all about the last two minutes. October 31, Seven steely-eyed Gamesters went to Africa where they collected an ace from P. W. Botha, aka the "Old Crocodile," who led the racist Union of South African government from 1978 to 1989. Breathless lead the way as he improved to 39 & 13 and solidified his hold on 8th-place while Gashlycrumb Tinies rose to 19th-place. The methodical Cerberus scored her 11th hit and Die Uretic, Hanuman, Alibi and Second Line rounded out the scoring, in that order.November 1, New York City's Moorebids led a contingent of five Gamesters to Martha's Vineyard to collect deuces from Pulitzer-prize winning novelist William Styron, perhaps best remembered for his novel "Sophie's Choice." The Moorebids improved to 42 & 10 and occupy 5th-place. M. Hamilton, the Game's beloved Grand Dame, scored her 202nd career hit. Gomez briefly suspended his preparations for the Maine winter to celebrate his 10th hit of the year. Both Second Line, residing in New Orleans as it rebuilds, and YuGoGirl, residing in Arlington, Virginia, scored their fifth-hits and earned their QPAs. Sixty-days left before we reach the finish line. November 03, Connecticut's Pocketful of Posies pocketed a stylish one-point solo on Marie Rudisill, known to viewers of The Tonight Show as the Fruitcake Lady. With the hit the Posies improved to 24 & 11 and into a tie for 28th-place. November 05, Five Gamesters went to the 1948 Best Sellers List to find an ace from Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, who with her brother Frank, penned the memoir "Cheaper by the Dozen," which was based on their childhood experiences. New York State's Humorbid led the way as he scored a three-point Ecevit/Carey Daily-Double. Also inching up the scoreboard were Alabama's Dirt Nap, Rhode Island's Gang Green, Greyfriars Bobby (who looks to have locked up the Clete's Cup) and the scorekeeper's spouse, Ms. Fire Ants. The same day, eight globe-trotting Gamesters went to Ankara to collect two-points from former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit who was respected for keeping his nation secular and open to the West. Detective Frank Merriwell took over 8th-place as he rose to 39 & 10. Moving upwards in the Top Twenty were the Beverlys (13th), Schrodinger's Cat (14th) and Divinely Supine (18th). Also making the pick were Yo! Rick!, the Deadnecks, Humorbid and Wisconsin's El Duce's Revenge who attained his QPA. November 09, Wisconsin's Me & My Shadows improved to 10 & 4 with a shocking four-point front page solo on long time CBS news/60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley. Shadows is the spouse of Necropolis Keepers and friend of Cerberus. This is far and away the best hit of Shadows young career. Hats off in salute. November 10, an even half-dozen Gamesters went to the cinema to collect two-point hits from Academy Award-winning actor Jack Palance who made a career of playing menacing characters. Kansas City's Anna Rexic rose to 31 & 11 and the "seat of frustration," 21st-place. Nebraska's Eckspired strengthened her bid for Rookie of the Year honors as she improved to 18 & 6. Michigan's Die Uretic added a tenth notch to his gun-belt for the season. Pennsylvania's Killed By Death finally attained his QPA. Wyoming's Harris Tweed continued her second-half comeback and Canada's Joe Rockhead scored his second hit ever. November 11, Iowa's Omega Travel flew non-stop from Cedar Falls to Sydney, Australia, to collect an impressive seven-point solo from actress Belinda Emmett, who starred in the Aussie television drama series' Home and Away and All Saints. The hit lifted Omega Travel past Frozen Stiff for the third-place slot and represented his fifth-solo of the season.
November 16, seventeen Gamesters opened their ledger books to record a one-point credit from Milton Friedman, perhaps the greatest economist of the 20th century. El Chileno went Wild for five. Hitters of note include Habeas Corpse, who climbed to 22nd-place, Greyfriars Bobby, who tied the Pups for Most Hits with his 16th, Styx & Stones, who finally reached their QPA and Hare Today, who broke out of a six month scoring drought. November 17, New York's Crimson King and Pittsburgh's Killed By Death denied each other a solo as each scored a three-point hit on former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, who guided the Big Blue for 21 seasons. The hit lifted Killed By Death to a respectable 17 & 7, and gave the Crimson King his QPA. Same day, four Gamesters claimed three-points from Ferenc Puskas, a prolific goal scorer for the national soccer team of Hungary and the Real Madrid club in Spain and, by wide agreement, the game's first international superstar. Four-time Gran Prix winner Frozen Stiff used the hit to move into 3rd-place. The steely-eyed High Plains Drifter quietly rose to the 5th-place spot. The enigmatic Schrodinger's Cat improved to 7th-place. Rounding out the scoring were the always dangerous Silver Tapps of Texas, who recorded their 199th career hit. November 20, the extremely talented film director Robert Altman left two-points on the editing room floor for the Great Beyond and Eckspired, but cut Anna Rexic out completely as she de-listed. The deuce lifted the Great Beyond to 25 & 8, which is good enough for 28th-place. The front page NYT obit nudged leading rookie Eckspired to 20 & 7. A classy hit. November 21, eleven year Gamester Humorbid woke up the scorekeeper with a one-point solo on journalist Thomas Fleming, who championed civil rights throughout a long career as writer and editor. The hit lifted Humorbid to a score of 20 & 12. It was his first solo of 2006 but it was the 23rd solo of his Game career. It was also his 175th career hit, giving Humorbid a career average of 15.91 hits per year. November 22, Frozen Stiff began the Holiday Season a day early with an ingenious four-point solo on John Allan Cameron widely known as the "Godfather of Celtic Music" in Canada. The hit was Mr. Frosty's fourth solo of the 2006 campaign and the 28th of his remarkable fifteen-year Game career. November 23, William Randolph Hearse, has delivered a snazzy two-point solo on Anita O'Day, who was known as the "Jezebel of Jazz." Many jazz critics compare to her to Billie Holiday, not only for her singing style but for the tribulations she suffered in life, including drug addiction. November, 23, the lovely, talented, and demure Iron Maiden, loves a good musical which probably explains why she alone had the prescience to list lyricist Betty Comden, who, with her longtime partner, Adolph Green, wrote some of the most memorable tunes ever for the stage and screen, including a little ditty called "Singin' In The Rain." The two-point solo helped the Metallic Miss rumble past 19 astonished Gamesters in the rankings. Iron Maiden now has three solos for the season, her thirteenth.December 7, after a short drought, the last month of scoring for this years Game finally got underway as William Randolph Hearse and Gang Green went to Kansas City to collect a stylish ace from jazz/blues pianist Jay McShann, who played with all the great ones. The hit lifted William Randolph Hearse to a very respectable 26 & 10 while Gang Green, who will swing at anything, rose to 22 & 13. Same day, New York's King of Pain went to the Reagan Administration where he found a two-point solo from Jeanne Kirkpatrick, one of the original neo-conservatives, who gained notoriety while the U.N. Ambassador for the United States. For the King of Pain it meant passing 15 unhappy Gamesters on the scoreboard and a second solo for the year. December 8, big Band singer Martha Tilton, who sang for years with the Benny Goodman orchestra and who is best remembered for her 1939 hit "And The Angels Sing," was a one-point hit for a pair of Gamesters who have over 25-years of Game experience between them. It's a crying shame they both couldn't get a solo. Rhode Island's Sir Stiff and Florida's Fire Ants denied each other the pleasure. These two have over 25-years of Game experience between them. Sir Stiff improved to 24 & 15. Those fifteen hits puts him just one hit behind the Game lead for hits as the Sick Puppies and Greyfriars Bobby each have sixteen. December 10, Fifty-nine Gamesters earned an early one-point stocking stuffer from former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The Top 20 saw eleven Gamesters make a move, high-lighted by Pontius, who moved within two points of the leading Sick Puppies. Finally earning a QPA were the 7th Street Irregulars, Danse Macabre, Gratefully Dead and Sector 001. Game Central was pleased to see that the Silver Tapps, who are retiring after an illustrious 25-year Game career, scored their 200th career hit. What timing! December 11, Your Editor hardly knows where to begin to explain this hit. On August 27, of this year, Maria de Capovilla, the oldest person in the world, passed away and a number of Gamesters had the pick. The Guinness people soon named Elizabeth Bolden. 116, as the new official oldest person. Alibi, who passed on de Capovilla, and who has been burned by the de-listing curse in record numbers this year, did list Bolden and improves to 8 & 8. The Arkansas Deadnecks, who Went Wild for de Capovilla, listed Bolden and rose to a respectable 22 & 8. DC's Tomb Essence, who ignored de Capovilla, Went Wild for Bolden and maintained his Game leading 5.00 QPA, rose to 40 & 8, which raises the standard for a Top Ten finish to 40. That my fellow Gamesters is style. Iowa's Omega Travel, who also bypassed de Capovilla, used the ace to rise to 56 & 16. The ace puts Omega Travel just two-points behind Mr. Frosty for third-place and only nine-points from the lead. December 12, thirty-year veteran W. Dockum and rookie Joe Rockhead have just collected three-points each from talented character actor Peter Boyle who I best remember from Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein," but is maybe best remembered by younger Gamesters as Frank Barone on the hit television sitcom "Everybody Love's Raymond." It was a milestone hit for long-time veteran W. Dockum as it represented his 200th career hit. It also gave him his QPA. Joe Rockhead, on the other hand is amongst our rookie class and his learning experience now has a grade of 7 & 3. December 13, for 14 seasons Worm Feast made a good account of themselves with a career average of 28 & 7.64. Then came the horror of the 2006 season wherein they languished in Club Nula until August 30th, when they finally found liberation with a Wild Card on Glen Ford. But again they stalled and Worm Feast looked more like Worm Famine. Today things look a bit brighter as they put an exclamation point on their season with a front page NYTimes three-point solo on pro football icon Lamar Hunt, who, probably more than anyone else, is responsible for what we affectionately call Super Bowl Sunday. Further satisfaction was added by the fact it gave them their 400th career points. Classy pick for a first-class team. December 14, three Gamesters scored an impressive, stylish deuce on Atlantic Records founder and chief executive, Ahmet Ertegun, who brought Americans the music of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, CSN&Y and Led Zeppelin, to name a few. Leading the way were the veteran NYC team of the Moorebids, who used the two-pointer to replace the steely-eyed High Plains Drifter in the fifth-place slot as they improved to 44 & 11. Ertegun also gave the Moorebids their 200th career hit. Only a dozen Gamesters have ever scored that many. KC's Anna Rexic was also in on the action and she finally re-entered the Top 20 as the hit lifted her to 16th-place with a 34 & 13 mark. December 18, 25 Gamesters, in unison, hollered "Yabba-Dabba-Do!" as they added a one-point hit to their 2006 scores upon the demise of animator Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera, who brought us The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo and so much more. J. Eby lead the way as he rose to a tie for 16th-place with a 34 & 13 mark. Gashlycrumb Tinies used the ace to nudge Divinely Supine out of the Top 20 as he settled into the 18th-place slot. Rookie Eckspired all but counted her chickens before they hatched for the Rookie of the Year award with a 21 & 8 total. Greyfriars Bobby's tail wagged a bit faster as he took the lead for Most Hits with 17. December 18, two veteran Gamesters, with 28-years of Game experience between them, entered the dark room to pick up a last minute ace from renowned photographer Ruth Bernhard, who was called "the greatest photographer of the nude," by one Ansel Adams. Humorbid now has 13 hits for the year and currently has a career average of 16 hits per year...only Greyfriars Bobby averages more. Maine's Gomez, who picked up his 14th hit of the year, also snapped up a classy Barbera/Bernhard Daily-Double. These two gentlemen deserve a polite, muted tip of the hat. December 24, Missouri's Deadbolts led six other Gamesters into the Jeopardy category of television history, as they all scored an ace on Frank Stanton, who ruled the CBS network for decades. The hit moved the Deadbolts up one spot to 12th-place with an enviable 39 & 15 tally. Just a few spots back, the umbrella twirling Gashlycrumb Tinies took over 17th-place as he rose to 35 & 15. One of the Game's best hitters, Humorbid, scored his 14th hit of the year. Also in on the action were Penguin (10 hits), Manolete and the Flatliners (8 hits) and Unplugged (7 hits). The Flatliners came within hours of a Stanton/Brown Daily Double. Nature is fickle that way. Christmas Day, twenty Gamesters sang"I Feel Good!" while they danced around their Christmas trees with a three-point stocking stuffer from the "Godfather of Soul," James Brown. Leading the way was the lovely Divinely Supine, who rose to 36 & 12 and into 16th-place. Right behind her were Habeas Corpse (22nd-place), Mme. Morte (23rd-place) and the Great Beyond (24th-place). Four Gamesters finally gained their QPAs, six days before the finish line, and it gave them all serious boosts up the Scoreboard. The provocative Black Rose used the hit to move up nine spots, rookie Mr. Meaner moved up 10 spots while both Necrophiliac Pimp and Our American Cousin moved up 21 spots in the standings. December 26, a whopping 68 Gamesters made former POTUS Gerald Ford the most popular hit of the year. Greyfriars Bobby scored his Game-leading 18th hit. Take a bow, sir. Take a bow wow. The Decomposers, rookie Joe Rockhead and Me & My Shadows all finally qualified for their QPAs. Rookie Bone Voyage (sponsored by his father, Sweeney Todd) scored his first hit ever, leaving only two left in Club Nula. December 30, controversy reigns as forty Gamesters used a trap door and the alacrity of the Iraqi "justice" system to collect four-points from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Frozen Stiff moved within 3-points of the leading Sick Puppies and within 1-point of Pontius, still in 2nd-place. The hard hitting Omega Travel is right behind Mr. Frosty and moved into a tie with Greyfriars Bobby for Most Hits with 18 on the year. Dinner With Jack Klugman moved into a tie with the Moorebids for 5th-place. What a comeback from a miserable start for DWJK. Breathless, Tomb Essence and Schrodinger's Cat rounded out Top Ten scoring. In the Second Ten, Fade to Black moved to 11th-place and Habeas Corpse took over 16th-place.
And, there swinging at the end of a noose from the gallows in Baghdad, while the Sunnis danced a jig, did the 36th annual game come to a close. The final standings are below. Let us congratulate the winners:
The Gran Prix - Sick Puppies (67)
Back to back wins for the Pups, who's free throw on Red Aurberach in late October took the lead away for good from Pontius. Another strong hitting year for our winner, who's seemingly perfect perdictive abilities lead many a Gamester to ask: I wonder who he's putting on his list for 2007?
The Perriman Pennant - Greyfriars Bobby, Omega Travel (18)
Ace specialist Greyfriars Bobby does it again and is joined this year by Omega Travel, who used quantity and quality for a four place finish. A tight finish this year with, by our count thirteen Gamesters within three hits of the winners.
Rookie of the Year - Eckspired
Laying in wait for most of the year, Eckspired didn't get his QPA until the hit on Buck O'Neil in October, but that and five other 4th quarter hits, propelled this rookie past six othes to finish with a very respectable 26 &10.
Doc's Diploma for Class List - Skul
2006 was the 32nd season of play for Skul. Until the 2005 season he had stuck with it out with a career average around 10 & 7. In 2005 he decided to see what a bit of research might do. The result shocked not only himself but all Gamesters - he finished in 6th-place with a 42 & 15 mark. In 2006 he came out of the starting gates on fire. As noted above, he took the Silver Bobcat and secured his lead on January 31 with an 8-point Daily Double. At the finish line he had the Bobcat, a Daily Double and a Wild Card and finished just outside of the top 20 at 33 & 9. His dedication to the Game is uplifting to Game Central. He has been a class act throughout his career.
The Silver Bobcat - Skul
Skul joined many others on January 30 collecting three points on the first lady of civil rights, Coretta Scott King, but for Skul's fast start was rewarded with the Cat.
Reaper Ribbon for High QPA - Tomb Essence (4.89)
Tomb Essence, in a year when QPA's were up, topped everyone with a 4.89 average. This is his second Ribbon. Adding luster to the feat is the fact he had 9 hits.
Clete's Cup for Low QPA - Greyfriars Bobby (1.00)
Shaking off last year's defeat from Fire Ants, the Game's reigning Ace Face, Greyfriars Bobby, collects yet another Cup for his virtual trophy case.
The Buffalo Cup - 2 Dead Crew
In a year of frequent hitting, 2 Dead Crew sat idly by, waiting, waiting. Maybe the gangsta rap movement is over, or maybe Suge Knight cleaned up his ways. A Gamester who admires class hits over frequent ones, it was sadly 0 Dead for the Crew.
The Ghostie for Hit of the Year - Me & My Shadows
Purely subjective here but we are going with Me & My Shadows shocking Nov. 9th four-point solo on CBS correspondent Ed Bradley. Chapter E gets an honorable mention for his five-point solo on heavyweight boxer Trevor Berbick who was the last man to fight Muhammed Ali and who met his demise at the end of an axe. Also earning an honorable mention is Motel Styx who soloed for seven points on Nelson de la Rosa, the 33-inch tall actor who was also a good luck charm for the Boston Red Sox.
Detailed Hits and Standings for 2006 [January] [February] [March] [April] [May] [June] [July] [August] [September] [October] [November] [December]
Take me back to Play-by-Play.
Take me back to 2005. Take me forward to 2007.
Take me Home.